


let’s cry over ramen

by XxCarolxX



Category: Naruto
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Canon Divergence - Post-Fourth Shinobi War, Character Analysis, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Relationships, Living Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, My First AO3 Post, Not Beta Read, Post-Fourth Shinobi War, References to Canon, References to Depression, References to Fourth Shinobi War, References to anxiety, Separation Anxiety, Slow Burn, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, but in bits and pieces, but not really, the roomates au no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:41:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22245763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XxCarolxX/pseuds/XxCarolxX
Summary: When Uzumaki Naruto asked Uchiha Sasuke to become housemates with him, he expected a blunt, but curt no. Instead, the boy in question said yes and chaos proceeds to occur in Naruto's fragile heart.Or,alternate summary, Naruto and Sasuke become roommates and try their best to deal with life in Konoha together.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata & Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto - not really, Nara Shikamaru/Temari, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 12
Kudos: 77





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi y’all, so this is my first fic and I am realllllly nervous! I would love some honest feedback on what you guys think!
> 
> Somethings to note:  
> This fic will alternate POVs between Naruto and Sasuke  
> Some chapters will be really short and some really long  
> I plan on updating every week, but some chapters may be delayed a few days  
> Enjoy!

Life goes by in a haze after the Fourth Great Ninja War.

Naruto spends the first few months healing. Even though Kurama's chakra courses through his body, both of them exhausted their chakra reserves into the negatives. Their bodies, regardless of how powerful they had become during the war, needed and _deserved_ a break. And besides, even if he wanted to leave the hospital, Sakura would not allow it; so, he happily complied with the hospital's wishes. For the first time in his life, he chose to take care of his body and allowed it to fully repair itself naturally while he relaxes and enjoys the first break he has had in years.

During this time, he manages to convince Yamato to help him in sketching a house he wants to be built on the outskirts of Konoha. A two-story house with two bedrooms, one restroom, and one bathroom. Yamato grumbles and whines about there being suitable apartments for Naruto within Konoha but assists him in the process anyways. Naruto can tell Yamato is invested in the creation of this house — he is always asking follow-through questions. He doesn't — to Naruto's relief — ask why he is building an extra bedroom; because if he did, Naruto would have to hastily explain that it is a guestroom when that is a blatant lie.

When he's not adding tiny details to the designs of the house, he is at the Konoha Wellness Relief Center that Granny Tsunade implemented after the war and before she stepped down from the role of Hokage. At the moment, few employees of the center are actually from the Leaf. No one thought to consider the health of the mind after traumatic events, but once the high from winning the war began to dissipate, it was evident that the shinobis needed help; both physically and mentally. So, with the help of Gaara, Granny Tsunade hired mental assistants, also called therapists, from the Hidden Sand Village. The elders were outraged. They believed that shinobis should persevere through any challenge; both physical and mental. But when the Hokage to succeed Granny Tsunade, Kakashi-sensei, stood next to Granny Tsunade and brought up his late father — well, let's just say they no longer found it in themselves to argue.

Naruto was one of the first patients to visit a therapist. With Granny Tsunade dragging him by his left arm, his right in a sling, she told him that she will see him in an hour and thirty before leaving. Naruto was skeptical about all of this; he doesn't have a problem expressing some of his emotions when it is necessary, but the thought of someone reaching even deeper into the ones he willingly expresses — _that_ , that right there, frightens him. But when he meets Old Lady Kami of the Sand, he instantly decides that he WILL give up his life for her own in a heartbeat. She is careful with him, but not in a way that makes Naruto feel fragile, but in a way that makes him feel that she is truly trying to understand him, not diagnose him — even though that is her job. Old Lady Kami gives names to feelings he never thought he would understand — still doesn't understand but beginning to get a less blurry image of what they are. A few more weeks of sessions with her and he is told he has anxiety and depression. The anxiety is more recent, appearing in his late teenage years, but apparently, he has been depressed since his days in the Academy. It is not wholly surprising, he knew he was feeling something, but never knew exactly what it was. Placing names on those emotions provides him a bit of comfort.

Naruto allows for his thoughts to dissipate as he looks up to the sky and breaths in the air of Konoha, walking a familiar path towards Ichiraku Ramen. He lifts the small cloth covering the entrance of the noodle shop while waving to Grandpa Teuchi and his daughter at the counter. He scans the shop and his eyes immediately land on Sasuke — who is already staring at Naruto with his eye. Sasuke is early. Despite Naruto arriving on time — it is exactly 7:59, they were supposed to meet at 8 — he is here with two bowls of ramen and bottles of sake.

"Surprised they let you out of the hospital," Sasuke says as Naruto takes a seat across from him.

"Sakura is tired of seeing me there. They will be kicking me out soon enough." Naruto tells him with a shrug.

Sasuke examines his face carefully and then asks, "How are you feeling?" 

Naruto almost wants to hit him because Sasuke would know about his wellbeing if he stayed in the village long enough to hold a conversation. _Or_ , at least tell Naruto when he is going to leave on a mission. Instead, Sasuke showed up to his hospital room two days ago (Naruto did not know the bastard was back) after a two weeklong mission, asking him to meet up at Ichiraku Ramen the night before he goes on _another_ mission.

"Doing as well as you can be after having someone's cells implanted into your arm." Naruto settles on saying, gesturing to his right arm with his left hand.

"It hurts?"

Naruto shakes his head, "Not anymore, just feels uncomfortable, foreign. Ya know?"

"No." Sasuke begins gesturing to his missing left arm with his right arm. "I don't know."

Right. Sasuke denied treatment from Granny Tsunade.

Naruto begins to eat his ramen after this, feeling a bit stupid after his comment. Even after all these years he still can't help but make a fool of himself in front of Sasuke.

With the noodles in his mouth, courage seeping into him every time the broth hits his tongue, he asks:

"How did your mission go?"

Sasuke expression immediately hardens. No one else would've noticed; Sasuke's face still looks clean of expression, but Naruto notices the slight squint of his eye and the way his eyebrow furrows ever so slightly. He is about to take back his words when Sasuke responds:

"A rogue group of shinobis this time. They harbored resentment towards the Hidden Stone."

The war led to the revelation of a lot of secrets and coverups the 5 Great Shinobi Nations participated in. While some were able to move on from what their nation did, others could not let go of their hatred in them. Naruto slowly begins to feel the giddiness of seeing Sasuke wear off after hearing this. 

This is the sad reality. Despite his efforts, there are still issues that need to be taken care of. He doesn't feel anger towards these rogue shinobis because he understands their hurt. The hurt of knowing the village that you love and have protected are not doing the same for you. He knows it well. _Maybe_ , maybe it is time to end his break? He has been resting for too long and allowing for everyone else to clean up the mess the war has left. It is —

Sasuke slides a shot of sake towards him. Naruto looks up from his ramen and startles when he sees the worry in Sasuke's eye.

"Sorry," Naruto tells Sasuke, a smile making its way to his lips "got lost."

Sasuke stares at him for a second too long as Naruto downs his sake in one shot before inquiring about his house.

"Oh!" Naruto exclaims with a more genuine smile on his lips. "It is done. Yamato finished it a week ago."

"Show me the pictures."

Naruto hands Sasuke the photos, deliberately excluding the photo of the second bedroom.

"It looks nice," Sasuke says with an appreciative hum.

"Then move in with me."

Naruto can feel his neck and ears heating up due to his words. This was _not_ the plan. His original plan was to work up the courage to ask Sasuke to be his roommate _after_ he came back from his mission. But fuck, sometimes his mind and his mouth aren't on the same page and what he wants to say versus what he thinks tends to jumble up. Perhaps drinking sake with Sasuke was a bad idea, but this is unusual for him. He does not get this drunk _this_ quickly or easily. Which means that his dumb sober mouth decided that this was the time, that this was the moment —

"Okay."

Naruto openly gapes at Sasuke, not bothering to feel any embarrassment about his reaction after making a fool of himself twice in front of Sasuke this evening.

"O-okay?" Naruto mumbles back.

"Okay," Sasuke says with a firm nod, an amused glint in his eye.

It takes Naruto about a minute and thirty seconds to finally pull himself together. Once he does, he smiles smugly at Sasuke.

"Of course, you would say yes!" Naruto says, nodding knowingly."Who wouldn't want to live with the Great Uzumaki Naruto? Hero of the Leaf Village? The Chosen One??!!"

Sasuke gives him a look. "Never mind."

Naruto’s smile falls instantly, "No takebacks!" he yells, pointing a finger at Sasuke.

Sasuke only takes a sip of his broth from his spoon before using his chopsticks to eat the ramen.

"Don't ignore me! Sasuke!" Naruto whines embarrassingly.

Maybe he is drunk.

"Baby," Sasuke says with a shake of his head. "I will be moving in after my mission."


	2. Chapter 2: Home

Home. A word and a place that has become foreign to him.

His first home was destroyed, and along with it came the death of his clan and family. Sasuke no longer remembers the warm feeling that overcame him whenever he saw his mother, papa, and Itachi at the dinner table.

Konoha never felt like home after that. (He can’t help but question if it was _ever_ home, but he shoves that thought out of his head). After his clan’s demise, there were a lot of whispers about the horrible Uchiha who spared the younger brother due to pity. The horrible Uchiha who wiped out his whole clan mercilessly. Konoha felt like a personal hell.

Team 7 happened.

There was a boy; blonde hair, blue eyes, and a smile that seemed to shine even in the darkest pits of Sasuke’s hell. Sakura's and Kakashi's presence in his life cooled the flames that engulfed him every time he opened his eyes, but that wasn’t enough. That was never enough for Sasuke. 

Training with Orochimaru and Kabuto meant moving from hideout to hideout. The man who killed his teacher, the Third Hokage, was always being followed, so Sasuke was always moving. The hideouts were dark and unfamiliar. He never had time to get used to them because he would need to pack up his bags and leave the next day. There were moments, however, in the darkness when he yearned for a certain blonde boy to show up and whisked him away. _Maybe_ – maybe this time he will yes to him and allow himself to bask in the warm glow that always seemed to surround the blue-eyed boy. But, even young Sasuke knew he would not leave; he could not leave. So, he would lock away those fantasies. 

He would later join the Akatsuki, for a while, with Taki, formally known as Hebi. The Akatsuki was not a home, but Taki was something akin to that. 

_“Ah,”_ Sasuke suddenly thinks to himself, blood gushing out of his left arm, _“the warm feeling is back.”_

So, when Naruto asks Sasuke to move in with him, an expression similar to the one he had when he stabbed the kunai into his hand appearing on his face, the only answer was yes.

He gave up all personal items when he decided to leave Konoha for Orochimaru. The only clothes Sasuke has are the ones he is wearing and an extra pair in his bag. When he arrives at Naruto’s house, it's on a late Saturday afternoon and Sasuke carries with him his extra pair of clothing, kunai, and healing balms. 

Sasuke knocks on the door and it opens immediately. 

Naruto stares at his luggage for a moment before laughing, loudly, for thirty seconds, as he ushers Sasuke into the house.

The living room is spacious. Dark wood paneling makes up the walls and the floors while dark red sofas decorated the space. The kitchen is a lot smaller, with a dining room space attached to it. Right next to the fridge, there is a sliding door that leads to a backyard patio. The backyard is mostly trees, but there is a beautiful lake with flowers surrounding it. Naruto leads him to the second floor where there is a bathroom –

“This bathroom has a shower and bath. The restroom downstairs only has a toilet and a sink.” Naruto informs him.

The bathroom is spacious – a big space to bathe, but also a showerhead for the person to choose from.

“This is your room, Sasuke.”

The sight that greets him as soon as he enters the room is the big king-sized bed in the center, the headboard against the wall. It has navy blue covers on it and black pillows. The room is sparse, only containing a window on Sasuke’s right side with a desk underneath it.

“That door,” Naruto begins, pointing to the door on his left, “leads to the study room. It connects our rooms.”

“And why would _you_ need a study room?” Sasuke asks.

Naruto shrugs, “Apparently you need to know things about Konoha before becoming Hokage.” Naruto finishes with a smile.

Sasuke only shakes his head before taking in space he will be living in for some while.

“I will leave you to unpack,” Naruto tells him, eyeing Sasuke’s bag again.

He stares for a second longer before laughing again. Sasuke decides that he has had enough of this bullying and begins to push him out of the room.

“Alright, alright, I am leaving,” Naruto yells at the door. “If you need me, I will be in my room.”

The door closes behind him and suddenly the room feels a bit colder than before. Sasuke sighs and then begins rearranging items in his room. He moves the desk aside before moving his bed underneath the window then moving his desk to where his bed was previously.

Sasuke leaves his bedroom for the shower. He stays there for a while; trying to ignore the thoughts that would surely get him killed by Konoha officials if they knew he harbored them. The thoughts would certainly disappoint Naruto if he knew Sasuke still had horrible, intrusive thoughts about Konoha whenever he was alone. The water begins to run cold when Sasuke finally leaves; a towel wrapped around his waist and a smaller one on his shoulders to catch the wet droplets falling from his hair.

Sasuke changes into the clothes he finds in his closet: a black t-shirt and black cotton pants. He ties his hair into a small, low bun and places the small towel on his shoulders again. He considers for a moment what he should do now before ultimately deciding to leave his room for Naruto's. Sasuke contemplates going through the study to access Naruto's room but decides to enter through the hallway's door instead.

Naruto’s room, unlike his own, has personality. There is a large orange carpet with the symbol of the Uzumaki clan in the middle of the floor. There are pictures of their classmates and teachers hanging on the left side of the room and in the middle of all the pictures, a picture of Team 7. Naruto is lying on his king-sized bed, facing the ceiling as rays of sunshine from the window over his headboard dances on him.

Sasuke walks over to the bed and sits at Naruto’s right side.

“Naruto, what are you thinking about?” Sasuke asks quietly.

Naruto opens his eyes, his blue eyes meeting Sasuke’s rinnegan eye and black pupil.

“Nothing much.”

“Good,” Sasuke says with a nod. “Would be worried if you were using that brain of yours.”

“Hey!” Naruto yells, hitting Sasuke’s knee.

And at that moment, with Naruto sitting up to give Sasuke a piece of his mind, blue eyes bright and focused on him, Sasuke feels the warm feeling again.

Sasuke feels at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this update came reallllllllyy late.... I literally had this in the drafts for a long while, but a lot happened in life and the world and could not bring myself to edit. And a lot of this story is already written in my head that I tend to forget what I originally wanted to write about/include in a chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> I just went ahead and published this cause if I didn't, I would've edited this a thousand more times and never get it published in the end. Let me know what you thought in the comments!


End file.
